


Stargazing

by JaneAndrewsEllis



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Astronomy, Binary Star, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Pining, Sweatshirt Swapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25129363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneAndrewsEllis/pseuds/JaneAndrewsEllis
Summary: Penny recruits a very special guest to teach Vincent and Jas about Astronomy. Penny then gets a bit of alone time with Maru after the kids go to bed.
Relationships: Maru/Penny (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	Stargazing

Maru gave Penny an enthusiastic wave from up on the hill above Pelican Town. Penny smiled and waved back, though not quite as animated, as she led Jas and Vicent up to meet her best friend. The sun was touching the western horizon on a crisp fall evening, and Maru already had her telescope set up, brought down from her home up on the mountain.

“Tonight I have a very special guest for you. Vincent, Jas, you know Miss Maru, right?” Penny said, introducing her friend as she set out a blanket on the grass for herself and the kids to sit. “For our special lesson tonight, Miss Maru will be teaching you a little bit about the stars and the night sky. Maru, if you’re ready, you can start the lesson.”

Penny took a seat on the blanket, letting the kids sit directly in front of Maru while she sat off to the side, letting her watch both Maru and the kids. So far everything was going just as they had planned, and Penny couldn’t be happier. While they might be a handful at times, she loved teaching and taking care of Vincent and Jas. She also loved watching Maru in her element, talking about astronomy or engineering, so her night could hardly be going any better.

Penny looked on with a smile as Maru first told Vincent and Jas about constellations. She pointed out the big dipper, and showed them how to find the North Star, which Jas seemed to take interest in. After pointing out a few more constellations, it was finally time to use the telescope. Maru first showed off the surface of the moon, pointing out specific craters and features named after long-dead scientists that Penny could never remember. Finally, she found Saturn in the telescope, and Vincent seemed amazed that he could see the planet’s rings with his own eyes. 

Penny was content to just watch the others for now. Tonight was about teaching Vincent and Jas. She could look at the stars with Maru another night, maybe just the two of them alone under the night sky. She couldn’t help but blush her own romantic fantasy, and she was thankful for the darkness now that the sun had set, hiding the red on her pale cheeks. 

Far too soon, the time for stargazing had come to an end. Penny had promised Marnie and Jodi that she’d have the kids back before it got too late. She stood up and brushed off her skirt, lightly wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm. Maru had been far more sensible, wearing a thick sweatshirt to keep her warm into the night. “Vincent, Jas, it’s time for me to take you back home. Say thank you to Miss Maru for teaching your special lesson.” 

“Awww man, can’t we stay a little longer?” Vincent pleaded. 

“Thank you Miss Maru, I really enjoyed your lesson,” Jas added politely. 

Penny was glad both kids had enjoyed their evening with Maru as much as she had. Even though she only was watching Maru teach, that was more than enough to make it an enjoyable experience for her. Penny didn’t need to tell her best friend that she’d been in love with her for years. Maru was a star burning bright, and Penny could be satisfied with enjoying her presence from a slight distance. 

“Thank you for tonight, Maru. I have to go walk the kids home, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Penny said softly.

“Why don’t I help you walk the kids home?” Maru proposed, giving her one of those big earnest smiles that always made Penny feel like she would melt, even in the autumn chill.

“Umm, alright. Let’s go then,” Penny said quickly, trying to keep herself from stammering or letting Maru see the effect she had on her. It didn’t take long to take Vincent and Jas back to their houses, and just a few minutes later the two girls were walking back through the Pelican Town by themselves.

“Hey, since the telescope is already set up and you didn’t get a chance to look through it earlier, would you like to stay out a little bit longer and look at the stars?” Maru asked as they made their way through the central square of town. It seemed to Penny that Maru was a bit nervous as she asked, though Penny had no idea why. Maru was normally so confident, which made it even more strange.

“I’d be happy to, if you want to spend any more of your night with me.”

“Of course! I love spending time with you Penny,” Maru exclaimed, as if that should have been immediately obvious. “But if you’re going to stay outside any longer, I think you need this more than I do.” Suddenly Maru pulled off her warm sweatshirt and gave it to Penny, looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to put it on. The look on her face told Penny there would be no negotiating, even if she tried to insist Maru keep it.

Penny pulled the sweatshirt over her head, and happily slipped into its warmth. Penny blushed and looked down at her feet as they walked, and once again was thankful the darkness helped hide the redness of her cheeks once she realized she was feeling Maru’s body heat. The sweatshirt hung a bit loose on Penny, as although Maru was not overly tall, Penny was still short in comparison, but the slightly oversized sweatshirt was still extremely cozy.

“Thank you for teaching the kids tonight tonight, Maru, it means a lot to me to have someone else helping me with Vincent and Jas.”

“I should thank you too. I love getting to share my passion for astronomy with others, but I wanted to be a good teacher for the kids since I know how much it means to you.” Maru gave her another one of her wholehearted smiles, and Penny once again had to look away. If she hadn’t, the urge to kiss Maru—which was always present—might have grown too strong for her to resist.

“You’re really good with kids, you know that right?”

“You think so? I hadn’t worked much with kids that much before tonight, but it was fun.”

“I know so. You’re a natural with kids, Maru.” Penny paused, thinking about something she wanted to ask before it slipped out of her mouth unbidden. “Would you want to be a parent some day?”

“Before, I thought I might not be a good parent, but now I don't know. I might want children eventually. Of course you’d be the best mother ever, Penny.” Penny had no idea how to respond to that, and they continued their walk in a slightly awkward silence. 

A few moments later they made it back to their stargazing spot, and instead of using the telescope, Maru just laid down on her back, looking up at the stars. Penny joined her, laying side by side on the blanket. The urge to kiss Maru hadn’t yet subsided—it never did—and Penny was thankful that the night sky held her attention, because if she were to turn her head to look at Maru, she might accidentally kiss her.

“Let me tell you about one of my favorite stars,” Maru said, breaking Penny out of her reverie. “Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to us, but it’s actually a binary star, meaning there’s two stars that orbit together, but from this far away we can only see their light as one.” 

Penny somehow found the idea of binary stars rather romantic, though maybe right now everything would seem romantic to her, as she lay down next to Maru looking up at the sky. “Oh that’s really interesting. Can we see them from here?” Penny asked.

“I can show you.” Maru took Penny’s hand in hers and aimed it up into the night sky, showing her where the binary star was. Sure enough, the pair seemed indistinguishable from a single star. Maru let Penny’s hand down, but didn’t let go, holding her hand between them as they kept looking up at the sky.

They lay together in silence for a while. Penny had no idea how long it was, but the world seemed to stand still as their fingers interlaced. Maru’s thumb gently rubbed small circles into the back of her hand, and suddenly Penny found it hard to even breathe. 

“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?” Maru said softly, breaking the long silence. “You know, there’s no one I’d rather share this night with.”

Penny finally turned to look at Maru, and was caught off guard as she realized Maru was already staring back at her. Their eyes met and Penny couldn’t look away. There was another long silence as they stared into each other’s eyes, and the urge, the magnetic pull of Maru’s lips was now too strong, and Penny couldn’t resist any longer. 

“Would it... would it be okay if I kissed you?” Penny asked nervously. 

Unable to look away from Maru’s inviting eyes, she witnessed the joy come over her face as Penny asked the question. Instead of answering, Maru simply put an arm around Penny to pull them both together, and softly pressed her lips to Penny’s. It took Penny a few seconds to process what had just happened, and by that time her kiss was already over.

“Did you like it?” Maru asked, seeming uncharacteristically nervous for the second time this night.

“Well, I couldn’t really think at all while you were kissing me,” Penny giggled, a wave of relief and confidence flowing through her now. “Why don’t we try it again to see if I like it?” With that, she quickly rolled over on top of Maru and met her lips once more.

Their second kiss was far less timid, as Maru put both arms around Penny’s waist, and Penny enthusiastically fulfilled the desires she’d long since kept to herself, kissing Maru for as long as she could. Their lips parted only when Penny needed to catch her breath, and she panted lightly as she looked down at Maru, their faces still only inches apart.

“Okay, I like kissing you. I _really_ like kissing you. Can we please keep doing it?” Penny asked eagerly.

“You can kiss me as many times as you want,” Maru smiled up at her, laughing softly.

“Well we might be out here a while then, because it’s going to be a lot more kisses before I’m ready to stop.” Penny would remember her first kiss that night, and her second. But her third, fourth, fifth, and so forth would all blend together as she and Maru lay together under the light of the stars.


End file.
